American Airlines Again Extends Grounding of MAX Jets
Bloomberg
In another blow to Boeing (BA) - Get Report , the world's largest airline has again pushed out the deadline for resuming flights of the beleaguered 737 MAX.
American Airlines (AAL) - Get Report on Sunday extended the grounding of its fleet of 737 MAX jets, now holding the aircraft through Nov. 2. That pushes out lockup of the airline's 24 MAX jets throughout the lucrative summer travel season and beyond, forcing the airline to cancel about 115 flights a day. Last month the airline had pushed the deadline through Sept. 3, after earlier deadlines were also extended.
"American Airlines remains confident that impending software updates to the Boeing 737 MAX, along with the new training elements Boeing is developing in coordination with our union partners, will lead to recertification of the aircraft this year," said the airline in a statement Sunday that read much like those that preceded it when the earlier extensions were announced.
American Airlines also said it is continuing to work with the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board and other authorities.
But the Wall Street Journal is additionally reporting that the 737 MAX jets may not be ready for lift off until next year, which would mean at least two months after American Airlines' own take off date.
A call and email to the FAA Sunday were not answered for comment by 5 p.m.
Boeing, however, said in a statement released late Sunday to TheStreet that "we have said all along that the regulatory authorities determine the process for certifying the MAX software and training updates and the timing for lifting the grounding order. We will not comment on media speculation on that schedule."
"We deeply regret the impact the 737 MAX grounding is having on our customers and their passengers," said Boeing. "Boeing is working very closely with the FAA on the process they have laid out to certify the 737 MAX software update and safely return the MAX to service. The disciplined development and testing work underway is based on a rigorous analysis by our technical experts of the FAA requirements. We will submit the final software package to the FAA once we have satisfied all of their certification requirements."
Earlier this year, one of the new Boeing jets crashed in March in Ethiopia, killing all on board, and another went down over Indonesia last year in October, also killing everyone on the jet.
This story has been updated.
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